Study of Clothes Colors According to Emotion

Abstract

This research examines the interrelation of clothes, colors and sentiments based on clothes and colors that stimulate sentiment. This study provides data that is useful to color therapy by means of clothes as medium. The survey for this study targeted 200 Pusan National University students who analyzed the colors of association and clothes colors for nine positive vocabularies (passion, love, warmth, happiness, interest, softness, comfortable, freshness, and coolness) and six negative vocabularies (anger, fear, despair, nervous, gloomy, and loneliness). The data collection process used 120 standard colors as represented by Munsell's basic 10 colors (R, YR, Y, GY, G, BG, B, PB, P, RP) as chromatic colors classified into eleven tones of colors (V, S, B, P, VP, LGR, GR, L, DL, DP, DK) and achromatic colors divided into ten steps of brightness N1-N10. The results of the research are as follows. First, the warm class of colors were significant in the colors of association with positive sentiment and the cold class of colors were significant in the sentiment of refreshment and coolness. In addition, bright and clear colors (like V, S, VP, P) were associated with color tones. Second, the low bright achromatic colors were generally high for the colors of association with negative sentiment; in addition, the color of R, PB, P (as achromatic colors) were also significant. In addition, sober and dark tones (like GR, DL, DK, DP) were significant in color tones. Third, the interrelation between positive sentiment and clothes colors shows that colors of association were mainly used for upper garment colors. Similar colors against upper garments were used together for bottom garment achromatic colors and complementary colors; therefore, bottom garments play a subsidiary role in the concept of coordination with upper garments.